Lancaster upbeat for NZ tour

England head coach Stuart Lancaster believes the team will restore their reputation in New Zealand after arriving for their three-Test tour.

The majority of the squad has travelled for the series against the All Blacks, with part of the group making the trip after Saturday's Aviva Premiership final.

England's last visit to New Zealand, for the World Cup in 2011, was a controversial one both on and off the field.

Courtney Lawes and Delon Armitage received mid-tournament suspensions while there were several incidents of indiscipline away from the games, with Manu Tuilagi fined £3,000 by England rugby officials and formally warned by police for jumping from a ferry in Auckland.

Lancaster is confident the changes he has implemented to the personnel of the squad and the culture within the group will mean any such issues are avoided.

"We always have codes of conduct and things like that have always been in place," he said. "Being a good bloke is probably the defining one.

"When we finished the World Cup in 2011 and I got the interim job we made 15 changes to the squad.

"We invested our time in a group of young players with talent and who I trusted. We've stuck with that philosophy ever since.

"Perhaps there were players who didn't fit into that philosophy but they've improved as time has gone on and I'm always prepared to give someone a second chance."

And he added: "We've got ground to make up over here. We're not going to say anything different. We've got a reputation to recover and we want to come back to England as ambassadors for our country."

England begin their tour with a game against the Barbarians, live on Sky Sports 1HD on Sunday at 3pm.